UALR Radiation Safety Office

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UALR Radiation Safety Office
ETAS-239 501-569 8210 Graduate Institute of
Technology University of Arkansas at Little Rock
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Regulatory Authority

• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
• EPA, DoE, DoT, OSHA
• Agreement State
• Arkansas Department of Health
• Radiation Control and Emergency and Management
• UALR Radiation Safety Office
• Radiation License- commitment to provide
  personnel training

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Individuals Requiring Radiation Safety Training

• Three general categories of UALR employees with
  respect to their exposure to radiation
• Radiation Workers Those workers whose major
  responsibilities involve working with sources of
  ionizing radiation or radioactive material.
• Ancillary Workers All personnel who may come in
  contact with or enter an area that contains
  radioactive material or sources of ionizing
  radiation.
• Non-Radiation Workers personnel who would not
  normally be expected to encounter radioactive
  material or radiation sources in the course of
  their employment at UALR. This group does not
  require radiation training.

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Radiation Safety Training for Ancillary Personnel
Any individual who works near areas where
radioactive material is used or who may have
reason to enter such an area must participate in
a one hour awareness training session provided by
the UALR Radiation Safety Officer. This
training is for ancillary personnel and does not
replace training for radiation workers. All new
employees working in areas containing radioactive
materials are required to attend this training.
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Radiation Safety Training Contents

• What is radiation?
• Where is it located on campus?
• How to know if there is a radiation source or
  radiation area- Symbols?
• How to protect from radiation exposure?
• What to do in case of an emergency?
• Upon completion of this training you may be
  authorized to enter some restricted areas
  containing radioactive material. However, you may
  not handle radioactive materials directly. A
  record of completion of the training will be
  documented with the radiation safety office.

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What is Radiation?
Invisible energy waves or particles
What is Radioactivity?
The radioactivity is the property of some atoms
to spontaneously give off energy as particles or
rays. The atoms that make up the radioactive
materials are the source of radiation.
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Ionizing and Non-ionizing radiation?

• Radiation carries a range of energy forming an
  electromagnetic spectrum.
• Radiation that does not have enough energy to
  break chemical bonds but can vibrate atom is
  referred to as Ionizing Radiations e.g.
  radiowaves, microwaves, infrared, visible light
  etc.
• Radiation that has enough energy to break
  chemical bonds is referred to as 'ionizing
  radiation, e.g. alpha particles, beta particles,
  gamma rays etc.

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Sources of Ionizing Radiation

• Naturally Occurring
• Consumer Products
• Foods and Containers
• Medical Procedures
• Nuclear Plants
• Radiological Sites
• Government Industry

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Ionizing Radiation
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Location of Radiation Areas on the Campus
ETAS Building 4th Floor Central Storage Facility
(ETAS-429A) Applied Science/ Bioscience
(ETAS-427, ETAS-424) Science Laboratory
Building (SCLB) 3rd Floor Biology
(SCLB-362) 4th Floor Chemistry (SCLB-471)
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How to know if there is a radiation source or
radiation area- Symbols?
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How to know if there is a radiation source or
radiation area- Symbols?
"CAUTION RADIATION AREA"
CAUTION RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS"
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Radiation Package Symbols
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Radiation Protection Basics
Shielding
Time
Distance
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Protection from External Exposure
Protective Devices Shielding lab
coats gloves, Masks eye protection proper
monitoring public perception
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Protection from Internal Exposure
Mode of Entry into Body Inhalation Ingestion Ab
sorption Injection
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Tissue Damage and Health Effects

• Breakage of Chemical Bonds
• Formation of New Chemical Bonds or Cross linkages
• Damage to Macromolecules (DNA, RNA, Protein etc.
• Production of Free Radicals
• Overexposure may cause deformity, cancer etc.

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What About Disposing of Radioactive Waste?

• Disposal - a complex issue, please do not pick up
  any radiation waste
• Radiation Safety Officer can only dispose of
  radiation waste
• Proper disposal - a key to protecting public
  health and environment
• Different types of wastes-
• Solid, liquid, Scintillation vials
• Contamination with biohazard materials
• Short Half Life (decayed in storage facility)
• Long Half Life (disposed of by professional
  companies)
• Seal Sources (disposed of by professional
  companies or returned to the manufacturer)

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Emergency Contacts
Radiation Safety Officer 501-569-8210 Assistant
Radiation Safety Officer 501-569-8003 After
Hours Public Safety 501-569-3550 Also check NRC
Notice to Employees posted in the radiation use
and storage areas